Artificial Intelligence and Its Relationship to Machine Monitoring and Data Collection

While buzzwords such as predictive maintenance, artificial intelligence, digital twin and augmented reality have promised to enable the fabled digital transformation of manufacturing, when it comes to Industry 4.0, most practical applications start and end with machine connectivity. And when it comes to driving value, look no further than answering these questions: "What's happening?" Simply put, most manufacturers are unable to see what's actually happening on the shop floor in real time because their machines are not connected to any sort of data collection or data visualization system. This inability to both see and use data to drive continuous improvement leads to massive inefficiencies that affect every component of a company's operations, from the shop floor all the way to the C-Suite. As the excitement around the opportunity presented by AI continues to grow, Lou Zhang, chief data scientist at MachineMetrics, offers his perspective on where AI lands within the Analytics Journey and its relationship to technologies such as machine monitoring and data collection.